


Snakes and Foxes

by Serriya (Keolah)



Series: Interdimensional Bridge [39]
Category: Changeling: the Dreaming, Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Genre: Action, Chases, Fauns & Satyrs, Gen, Kitsune, Naga, Sharks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-15
Updated: 2006-07-15
Packaged: 2017-12-09 12:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keolah/pseuds/Serriya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Kitsune named Goldentail finds herself drawn into a malicious game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snakes and Foxes

Finn and Lyn, an improbable pair of twins, odd in that the birthrates of the fae were generally quite low and to see _twins_ was nigh unheard-of. That didn't really matter, though, and they certainly could seem to care less about it as they dragged Goldy off between them into the night, chatting brightly about this, that, and the other thing as they wended their way through some of the more drab sections of town.

The sights became a bit more interesting as they went, bright lights and throngs of people appearing in the near distance like an oasis among a desert of boring. Clubs, lots of clubs, ranging from dance to dinner to goth to porn to... well, the full range was there and the people moving among them were equally diverse in nature.

"Ooh, let's go in there!" Finn said, grinning wickedly as he points to one of them.

Lyn looked at him like he'd lost his mind after taking a look at the place. At first glance it would seem to be a quiet, reserved place, with its windows sealed against the prying eyes of outsiders. A closer look at the line of people waiting to get in and the bouncer at the door gave a hint of its real nature though... leather, chains, and spikes, lace and ruffles... it had all the makings of a goth/punk hangout.

Goldentail peered over the people wide-eyed, curious as to their strange attire. Nobody on Serriya ever dressed like that. Very interesting, she thought. She bounced up eagerly to get a better look.

"Oh come _on_ ," Finn cajoled, grinning. "You _know_ the camps have all the best nightlife going!"

"Well sure, if you don't mind risking your neck!" Lyn scoffed.

"Pfft, please! Like we couldn't handle any trouble from the likes of _them_! Besides, all you have to do is avoid meeting their eyes. Pleeeeease?" Finn turned on the sad, sad satyr eyes, then grinned as his sister stifled a giggle, knowing full well how to twist things to his advantage.

"Well..." she wavered, then grinned at Goldy. "What do _you_ think of this fur-brain's idea?"

Goldentail was paying a good deal more attention to the people standing in line than to them at the moment, not even noticing that they were talking to her. She cocked her head thoughtfully and looked them up and down.

Lyn just looked at Goldy, seeing all the signs of fascination, then waggled a finger at the grinning Finn. "I'll skin your legs if we run into too much trouble in there," she warned with a pretty scowl, then relented with an equally merry grin and grabbed Goldy's arm to draw her over with them to get in line.

It was moving quickly enough that they ended up standing before the bouncer in no time. Big, _big_ man who was scowling like he wanted to twist every single person in the line into a pretzel... and his build suggested he just might be able to do it. He looked them over and demanded, "ID?"

Finn just grinned. "Oh please! We're fae, and satyrs to boot! You expect us to pay attention to silly little things like that?"

The bouncer gave the three of them a once-over, then grunted. "Long as you know the Rules, no skin off my nose."

Lyn smiled. "Oh, aye, we know the way of the special customers, and the reasons to think before dealing with em."

"Hmph," the bouncer replied simply and jerked a thumb at the door.

"What's an ID?" Goldentail wondered with an odd look as she headed inside with them, proceeding to look curiously around as they went.

A series of doors acted as an 'airlock' for the place, their effectiveness quickly displayed as they stepped through the final one and were assaulted by a deep, heavy wave of sound from the stage set at the far side of the room. Dim lights illuminated the band and gave an eerie glow to the generated fog which undulated at their feet and poured over the edge of the stage to gather in a pool on the dance floor.

Lights strobed here and there, creating a faintly disorienting effect as the flashes illuminated a leather-clad, spike-haired dancer in harsh detail, then another at the far end of the dance floor. Finn rubbed his hands together gleefully and headed off with quick, goatish exuberance for the bar.

Lyn tsked, then answered Goldy's question. "You really _are_ from out of town, aren't you? Anyone in the US would recognize a reference to the driver's license and other forms of identification that ID refers to. Come on, let's find a table while brother dear gets the booze."

Goldentail twitched her tails a bit at the sound, eyes going so wide that one might expect them to pop out of their sockets. "Oooh..." she said, barely paying enough attention to remember to stop standing directly in front of the door and followed Lyn off to a table.

"Well maybe this wasn't such a bad choice," Lyn admitted with a crooked grin, looking at Goldy's reaction, then sobered a bit. "Just don't meet anyone's eyes here other than Finn or me. You might get off lucky and just end up with a bad hangover in the morning..." She picked a table along one side that has a clear view of the dance floor and draped herself into a seat.

Finn took the shortcut back from the bar, straight across the dance floor. He displayed an impressive dexterity, not bothering to avoid the occasional spin or pause for a quick flow with the rhythm on the floor and not spilling a drop of the drinks he was carrying. He arrived and set them out on the table, then chose a chair of his own and raised the pewter mug in toast, "Hair of the dog," and took a deep drink.

Lyn smirked at him, but followed his example with equal relish.

Goldentail giggled and peered over to see what he was drinking. "I don't see any hair in there."

"Nah, that's just when I bathe," Finn replied brightly, the stuff in his mug looked like oil in the very dim lighting, though the thing was half empty after his first drink.

"Aye, _when_ you bathe." Lyn smirked. "And that's more from the company you keep!"

Finn donned a look of dramatic hurt. "Are you sayin' my choice in dates are dogs?"

"Oh, I'd _never_ suggest such a thing!" Lyn replied with false innocence, "Though the collars _do_ make one wonder."

Finn snickered and drained the last of his drink in a long draught, then turned bright eyes on the flowing energy of the dance floor. They were an odd pair. There was really no subject that was taboo between them after all the years they'd spent as sibs and little that could cause real insult.

Goldy, if she looked and sniffed at her own drink, got a whiff of a very potent whiskey... and they were drinking it like _water_. Eesh. Goldentail watched their exchange with amusement. She peered at her drink for a moment, and went to take a little sip testingly.

Very potent stuff indeed, though softened by a seeetish taste mixed in. She might or might not recognize a Whiskey Sour, but it was probably not usual to see a drink like it in such large quantities since the average person would end up with a very blurry night after consuming _one_ of them.

"Mmm," Finn said, not seeming affected by it in the least as he stood back up and grinned at them. "The night is young and the music calls, don't wait up for me." With a tip of an imaginary hat, he trotted off to the dance floor on his goatish legs and was quickly lost among the swaying mass of humanity.

"So quickly he forgets about the rules o' hospitality." Lyn smirked.

Lyn didn't really hold it against him, though. It _was_ their nature as satyrs, after all, the call of a wild party was a lure most difficult to resist... and most didn't even bother trying. She doesn't move to follow, though she taps her long-nailed fingertips lightly along to the resounding beat.

"I love places like this, it's like the world's biggest tropical fishbowl," Lyn commented.

As if to emphasize the point, two people walked by with the most garishly colored spiked hair, the coloration seeming at odds with the tight leather and spikes they wear.

Goldentail stared curiously at the interesting people as they walked by, continuing to carefully sip at her drink, and said, "Wow. Does it grow like that, or do they use Illusion Magic to change their hair color?"

Lyn laughed merrily. "Nae, only the Folk use glamourie to any great extent, and the mortals are forced to resort to more mundane methods such as dyes and gels. It always amazes me the lengths they'll go to for a bit of fashion... can you imagine being stuck with a look like _that_ for months or more at a time? Eek!"

Bright eyes glittered in the limited light as she looked out over the gathering, then turned to Goldy with a grin. "I'll admit, the bar scene isn't my thing unless I'm looking to really cut loose, and I'd not be so rude as my brae and leave you standing alone and lost in this strange shadow world. Care to walk about a bit and see more of the city?" She could feel the pull of the music, but restrained the temptation... for now.

"Sure," she said. "I'd like to think I'm a pretty good illusionist myself. Even if I didn't do too well in the competition. My first opponent was a guy with a beard, and I thought, hey, this won't be so tough... then he turned into a dragon and I said 'Aw, crap.'"

Lyn laughed throatily as she stood and nodded. "Aye, to cross the path of a dragon is dangerous indeed. Lucky you came away from it none the worse for wear!"

She headed off, away from the front door, her earlier protests apparently a sham as she led the way through the press of goths and punks to a side door that was nearly invisible in the gloom.

Goldentail followed along meanderingly, staring for a moment at everything in sight as she went. She'd never thought of the idea of using something like dye to change one's hair color. Why would she want to stain her lovely golden fur like that?

The door opened out to a short hallway that ended in another door that led to an alleyway. Somehow the night seemed brighter as they stepped out into the alley, and not just for the reflections which filtered from the busy main street nearby. There had been a dark undercurrent in the club that hadn't really been noticeable until it had been left behind, and Lyn seemed to relax as it lifted away.

She looked toward the circle of light to their right, then turned to the left to continue deeper into the warrens with a grin over her shoulder to Goldy. "There's a path near which will lead to the local Freehold, I think you'll find it interesting and should cause a bit of a stir in your own way." Some of the fae were quite jaded, but the kitsune was oddity enough that she'd doubtless stir even their interest.

Goldentail trailed along close after her and wondered, "What's a Freehold?"

A whisper of magic tickled Goldy's fur as they turned down a side alley, Lyn seeming to take the darkest route whenever they were presented with a branching of paths. Someone who really wasn't supposed to be here could get turned around and find themselves back out on the street in short order, while someone with fell intent could wander for an eternity in an endless maze unless the denizens decided to end their suffering.

Lyn answered the question amiably, dropping back to take Goldy's arm casually as she played the part of guide. "A Freehold's a place of power for the fae, though this particular one has significance to the werecats too. They created one of their den realms atop it, never realizing that the older magic had drawn them as surely to it as a cat to cream!"

Goldentail didn't fully understand and looks a bit confused. "What do you mean? It's enchanted or something, or it's got a high mana level, or what?"

Their path was seemingly random, a left followed by three rights, then straight, or was it left again? Goldy found her recollection of the way thoroughly muddled as they worked their way onward, and the reference point of the bright lights of the club district was quickly lost as they passed into the quieter neighborhood patrolled and kept safe by the werecats. Several times there was the feeling of being watched, but no one challenged.

"It's tied into the Dreaming," Lyn explained. "Which is where the Folk and all the other magic races draw their power from, a wondrous realm where all things are possible and shaped by the dreams of the slumbering mortal mind as surely as the direct workings of the Folk. Tis the realm of spirits and Quests, the very meat and drink of imagination."

"Oh, you mean the Dreamworld? The Ethereal Plane?" Goldentail piped up, recognizing the description immediately.

"Aye, so it's been called time and again," Lyn replied brightly, then frown as a sound emerged from somewhere ahead of them, a moan as though someone were in great pain, and she looked at Goldy with an arched brow.

Goldentail flicked her ears, peering ahead, and lowered her voice unconsciously when she said, "What was that?"

"I don't know," Lyn replied, dropping into a near whisper herself as she looked for some sign and didn't find anything within the immediate area.

The low moan sounded again, and the timbre would seem to indicate it was female... though it was hard to tell through the bubbling veil of pain that colored it. The satyr started slowly, cautiously forward in the direction it came from. Goldentail crept quietly toward where the sound was coming from as well. That didn't sound too good, she thought.

The source was found around another turning as they almost stumble over a naked woman curled in a fetal position on the hard asphalt. Something was _seriously_ wrong with her, there was so _much_ blood streaking her skin and forming a spreading pool, and it looks like she'd been _skinned_ in some areas.

"Oh my goodness," Goldentail whispered, horrified as she stared at the woman.

"Faith!" Lyn breathed an exclamation and quickly moved to the woman's side, but drew short as she didn't see any way to touch her safely without abrading the broken flesh. She winced as she got a closer look, then sucked in a breath as some of the patches began to re-knit before their eyes. "A shapeshifter..." Deep pity shaded her gaze as she looked toward the woman's face. "What _happened_ to you?"

Goldentail swayed in place for a moment and approached quietly, staring at her. Then she glanced about warily for any sign of what might have done this in case they were still in the area.

A low moan emerged from behind the veil of pale, pale blonde hair that was matted over the woman's face and sticky with a film of blood both old and new. She stirred at the sound of voices and weakly tried to find their source with pained, confused, eyes of a blue seemingly chipped from ice.

"Where...?" the woman whispered.

"Go easy," Lyn soothed and reached to take the woman by the shoulders and helped her sit up. "You're safe now, though I can hardly imagine what brought you here like this. What happened to ye?"

A shudder convulsed the woman's lithe figure as a flash of memory returned, but didn't seem to make any sense or click into place with the here and now. "Wani..." she whispered fearfully, her eyes looking suddenly around in panic.

Goldentail looked back toward the woman again as it didn't appear that anything was going to immediately jump out at her and rip her fur off. She wished she were a healer that she might be able to do something to help.

The woman seemed to draw together a bit more as the wounds closed and the stream of blood became a trickle and then trailed off. Shapeshifters were incredibly hardy creatures that took a hell of a lot to kill... and that worried Lyn a bit, just to think what could have inflicted those kinds of wounds on one.

"Come on," Lyn urged, tugging at the woman's shoulders. "Let's get you out of here and someplace safe nearby."

Lyn didn't want to think about what might still be out there lurking in the shadows, something with that kind of power and the craziness to do what had been done to the nameless woman wasn't anything she wanted to deal with. The fae were nowhere _near_ the raging engines of destruction that the Garou and their kin were.

Goldentail likewise didn't really care to meet anything with razor-sharp claws and slavering jaws bent on rending her limb from limb at the moment either. She went over to try to help what she could worriedly, still peering about in concern.

Between the two of them they easily got the woman to her feet, though unsteadily as yet. She wasn't used to having the freedom to move as she willed, that basic right having been denied to her decades before by the Wani. It was all coming back to her now, the shattered pieces of memory reassembling themselves even as the pieces of her mind never would.

She hissed, and the sound was dismissed by Lyn as a sound of pain as she slowly moved off while still offering support to the quickly healing woman. The sound was nothing of the sort, though, instead a quiet expression of anguish and anger that she and Gritch'ka had been _abandoned_ and left to the whims of fate by the Master... and things had been going so _well_!

Goldentail helped her along quietly, wondering just what sort of being would do this to a person like that and not just kill them. That was just cruel, she thought.

They made their way onward a while longer, the woman gaining sureness of foot and strength with each step, and she drew back from their support as the last of her wounds were repaired by the supernatural vigor of the shapeshifters in this world. Lyn watched her with a silent expression of concern, but otherwise focused on getting them to the Freehold where they could find out what happened in safety.

The woman stopped as they entered the courtyard with the park at its center, looking at the heart tree with an unreadable expression and glittering eyes. "A long time since I've seen this," she remarked casually, then donned a slow, wicked smile. "It reminds me of something else entirely..." She turned her freezing gaze on her 'rescuers' and asked silkenly. "Would you like to play a game?"

Lyn, understandably, looked confused at the sudden shift in attitude and the question, "A game?"

"Oh!" Goldentail said, happy to see her recovering. "What kind of game?" she asked cheerfully.

The woman's expression grew more reptilian in its chill, literally, as her eyes shifted to the unblinking and unsettling form of a snake's and a fine patterning of scales appeared to accentuate the contours of her body. "A little game of tag." she hissed sibilantly in reply.

"Oh shit..." Lyn whispered, looking suddenly horrified as a memory surfaces of nights of horror she'd thought were long past. "I thought you were _dead_!"

Goldentail looked puzzled, glancing toward Lyn and back to the other woman. "What..." she said in confusion, wondering just what was going on here.

"No, the Wani were not so kind," Shayah replied with cold malice, a forked tongue flicking to taste the air. "They thought to keep _me_ imprisoned for an eternity of their amusement, but a snake is not so readily contained. Although," she grudgingly admitted, "I must give them some credit for the skill and ingenuity of their torturers." She waved a hand in elegant dismissal. "That is neither here nor there, however, and I find myself suddenly in the mood for a game of old, with simple rules. Reach the target by dawn, without aid of anything but your own feet, and you win. I, on the other hand, will pursue and stalk you with the intent of ending the game early with a much less favorable outcome for you. I do so enjoy skinning my prey as an appetizer."

Lyn shuddered at the glitter of malevolent insanity in the other's eyes and made a sudden break toward the tree, shouting out to Goldy as she did, "Run!"

It didn't do her much good, though, as the woman moved with blinding speed to interpose herself... shapeshifting to a more horrid aspect of a giant two-armed snake, the hood of a cobra flaring suddenly as she hissed warningly and froze the satyr in place with a single glare.

Goldentail didn't need to be told twice, turning tails and darting off as fast as her legs could carry her without regard to which direction she happened to be going in. Shayah sighed, a deep rumbling exhalation, as Goldy made a break for it and vanished into an alleyway.

"That really wasn't very sporting," she chided the hapless and helpless Lyn. "Oh well, let's see how attentive your little friends are tonight, you might even survive this if they get to you soon enough."

The snake lashed out suddenly, fangs sinking deep into the satyr's shoulder.

Goldy, meanwhile, had managed to get herself turned around in the maze of alleyways and skidded to a stop at a four-way intersection as she heard a scream from somewhere behind her. Where to go _now_?

At the moment, she wasn't particularly feeling inclined toward running off to try to help people. That was what she was doing when she got into this mess, after all. She continued on in the opposite direction, hardly pausing.

The maze had been confusing enough on the way in, and the headlong flight wasn't doing much to clarify things for Goldy, but she could at least be pretty sure that she was moving _away_ from the courtyard that she'd left behind. That feeling was vindicated when she saw the end of the alley ahead as it opened out onto a street beyond a chain link fence with a dumpster set conveniently near it to climb up and over.

As she neared, however, a shadow detached itself from a wall and the Nagah slithered out to block her path with the equivalent of reptile amusement. "Leaving so soon," she hissed. "And without even knowing the target you must find before dawn? Not wise..."

"Eep!" Goldentail said, skidding to a halt. "What do you want? What did you do to Lyn?!" she demanded frightfully.

"Lyn?" The snake looked puzzled, then shook with silent laughter. "Oh, the tasty little half-goat! You have more important things to worry about than that, since there's nothing to be done about it now. As for what I want..." She coiled lazily. "As I said, the game! All you must do is reach the bay before dawn and you win."

"I don't trust you!" Goldentail replied. "You're a big mean demon snake! And I wouldn't even know where that is anyway!"

Again the snake shook with silent laughter. "Of course you don't trust me, nor should you! But really now, do you think you have a choice? You can either play the game by the rules or lose by default. Either way, I get an evening's entertainment and the chance at a lovely golden rug to decorate my home."

Goldentail whimpered softly. "Not on your life," she said with surprising ferocity. "What rules?" she added more quietly.

"Simplicity itself," the snake replied intently, the flash of spirit whetting its appetite for the chase. "You have only the tools that nature provided to reach the goal, no cab or bus, for example, and you can ask or accept no aid along the way. I will kill anyone you speak to, be assured of it, an assassin doesn't have much need for restraint when death is involved. I will stalk you by normal means and attempt to bring you within my coils. Evade me and reach the goal before dawn, and the game is yours...." It paused and seemed amused again. "My word on it."

Goldentail didn't think she had much choice about it. This snake was crazy! At least, she figured, nature provided her with plenty of tools. "Fine," she said reluctantly.

"Excellent!" the nagah replied, slithering nearer the alley's exit to extend a clawed hand toward the direction of the bay. "The finish line is at the far side of the city, plenty of time for you to get there, hmm?" She then coiled back just enough to let Goldy pass, though still uncomfortably close. "You have a ten minute head start, I'm a fair sort."

Goldentail didn't care to argue, just heading off that way briskly without looking at her again. She didn't trust that snake one bit. It was just like the games some of the stronger Elkandu played sometimes on mensch and mibis. When they could be bothered to acknowledge they existed at least.

Shayah let her go, remaining motionless and watchful as the fox passed, studying the lush gold fur with obvious appreciation. It really would make a delightful housewarming gift to herself, she mused, seeing as she was going to need to re-establish a hidey hole after that business with the Wani over the last sixty years or so.

The alley opened directly onto the street, and looking off to the right Goldy could see the bright lights of the club district and hear the faint murmur of the crowds. Its appeal was somewhat dimmed in the current circumstances, though, the likelihood of finding safety seeming far away just now. To the left the street continued lazily onward with several cross-streets, lined on both sides by apartments buildings and shops.

Goldentail just headed on in the direction indicated in as straight a course as she could manage, ignoring everything around her for the most part.

It wasn't difficult to move in a more-or-less straight line, skirting around buildings and scooting up and over the occasional fence while dodging the occasional stray dog. This area of town was relatively quiet and deserted at this time of night, the residents silently enjoying the security granted by the werecats and their patrols... which were nowhere to be seen at the moment, argh!

Goldentail didn't know or care much about any cats at the moment, just wanting to get wherever she was supposed to be going and finding out if that snake was planning on skinning her alive anyway. She wondered just how big this city was.

Goldy continued on for a half hour or so, then found herself on the outskirts of a well-tended park which seemed to mark the end of the cats' territory as the buildings beyond looked to be in overall poorer repair. She could see graffiti marking the walls as she moved through the park and a few shadowy people moving along the sidewalks and alleys. 

Unfortunately, someone got here ahead of her somehow and a hidden snare snagged at her ankles and threatened to send her tumbling even as a shadow emerged from the nearby trees with unnerving, fluid speed...

Goldentail tried to snatch herself away from the snares and took a step back, while simultaneously seeing about calling on her illusion abilities for a displacement spell -- making herself invisible while projecting an image of herself somewhere that she wasn't standing at the moment.

The illusion did a remarkable job of providing a momentary distraction, the snake suddenly veering at an improbable angle and lunging toward the projection with a deep hiss. Distant light flashed on short, wickedly curved blades in the creature's hands, and one really had to wonder just where the woman had been hiding _those_. It wasn't going to give much time, though, as the snake ripped through the image with hideous ease.

Goldentail didn't waste any time and took whatever advantage she could of the distraction to get away from there, trying to avoid getting snagged up in anymore traps as she went.

Goldy streaked away, the window of opportunity just wide enough for her to leap over another nearly invisible line stretched out in her path and then darted into the dark alley between two buildings. There was no immediate sign of pursuit, but that didn't mean much considering what she'd seen so far.

She really didn't want what had happened to the poor illusion to happen to her, and wasn't sure how many times she could pull off that trick either. At least Illusion was good for a variety of tricks.. but that was all they really were, tricks. She kept on going, on alert for any further traps or attacks.

Sadly, the next obstacle that rose in her path had more to do with the general nature of any urban setting as she suddenly found herself confronted by a small band of young toughs. From their styling, it could be assumed that they were all part of the same gang, each having a tattoo on their cheek that was disturbing in the current setting... a coiled cobra.

"Well hey now, what've we got here?" one of them said, leering as he looked Goldy over. "Looks like some kind of fairy, boys. Think they're as soft on the inside as anyone else?" A chorus of unpleasant laughter greeted the lewd question.

Under other circumstances, she might have paused to play with them for a bit, but at the moment she didn't feel like taking the time, and proceeded to see about putting up an illusion to make herself look like a giant, angry werewolf snarling at them.

"Hey look, it can do tricks too!" the apparent leader joked. "I got a few tricks to show you too..."

He grinned as the 'boys' move to circle her. They ignored the next shadow that appeared, but Goldy knew that _she_ wasn't projecting it... uh-oh. The first sign the punks had that something had gone seriously wrong with the entertainment that had dropped into their laps is a gurgling, choked-off scream as one of their number was lifted from the ground by the shadow they'd ignored. Blood fountained and splashed the wall as long fangs thrust into his throat and then slashed sideways with a violent twist of the snake's head.

Goldentail didn't stop to think, just darting off away from there and letting the illusion dissipate in an instant. Oi! At least she was in fairly good shape from hiking all over Serriya and dodging things trying to shoot at them, she figured.

Good thing that Goldy got out of there quickly. She didn't have to see the dismembering of the gang members. They tried to make a stand at first, drawing illegal pistols out and pumping slugs into the monstrosity... who didn't even bother to notice the normal bullets any more than pinpricks at its scales. A few screams echoed after her, then all was again quiet and still other than her own rapid footfalls and beating heart.

Somehow the poor, frazzled kitsune managed to avoid the snake for a while, whether it was playing with her or not wasn't something she probably wanted to think too much about. Finally she reached the shimmering field that marked the end of the arcology... and the bay was just beyond, circled by a high fence that went all the way around a sprawling series of structures identified by a large, gaudy sign: Shark Park.

Sharks? Just what she needed now... Nothing doing, she figured, panting a bit as she headed on up toward the fence and looked for a gate or something. Naturally she didn't figure that was going to be that helpful though.

As Goldy started looking around she noticed a shadow uncurling not too far away, much too close! The bay was no more than a hundred yards away on the other side of the fence, so close and yet so far...

Goldentail brought down a stroke of light like blinding sunlight in the general direction of the shadow, scurrying toward the fence frantically.

Shayah drew momentarily back from the sudden light, giving Goldy enough time to make a dive for the fence and start scrambling up it. She was near the top when the snake misjudged its forward momentum and slammed _into_ the fence with enough force that she could hear supports snap uncomfortably near. She had an instant to tuck into a ball as the chain link exploded outward with a squeal and sends her tumbling toward the ground.

The snake thrashed in the confines of its impromptu chains, claws shearing through the links in broad swathes... a moment more for the poor kitsune to make a run for it! Goldentail didn't pause for a moment to catch her breath, scrambling to her feet as quickly as she could and darting into a sprint toward the water.

Goldy reached the water's edge well before the snake managed to untangle itself and launch into pursuit. It came to a slithering halt some ten feet away and turned eyes glittering with malice down at the kitsune in forbidding silence. Nowhere left to run, Goldentail turned and looked back nervously, her mind turning over what trick she might have to use to get out of it if the snake went back on her word.

Shayah's tongue flickered as she eased back just a little, her height diminishing as she coiled lengths of her body. "I am half-minded to collect a rug, just for the trouble along the way," she remarked offhandedly, her attention focused intently on the comparatively tiny kitsune.

Something familiar had stirred, he could feel it in the very currents and song of Sea, a bloody taste on the water that brought memories of one who slithered across Unsea... but that one had been given to the water dragons, and there was no escape. Ceaseless Tides pondered that, realizing that time could change anything that walked, flew, or swam upon or within Sea's bounty, then rose from the shadows.

So intent on the vexing problem of the kitsune was the snake that it didn't notice as the water rippled beyond Goldy and a blunt snout rose to peer around it with unblinking, soulless-seeming black eyes. The two were known to each other of old, and the shark emerged with implacable certainty as he spies the snake. The thing was huge, even compared to the snake, a massively muscled bipedal monster well over fifteen feet tall. And teeth, lots and lots and lots of teeth, a familiar trait to any of the Great White breed.

Goldentail stumbled back in surprise as this new monster appeared, almost losing her footing in the water as she did so. "What now..?" she whimpered quietly.

The shark didn't turn its attention away from its approach, but answered her question with questionable reassurance as his voice sounded in her mind, "This one and I have old business. You are safe."

A line rippled downward from its snout and passed along its body, the moonlight that shone down over the bay reflected back from it... like silver.

Shayah realized that something was wrong at Goldy's comment and looks around. At spying the shark a sharp jerk of surprised shock ripples through the serpentine form... and she sprung suddenly _away_! Too little, too late, however, as a foot slammed down and stomped the snake's tail into the ground, trapping her in place. She hissed in fury and rounded back to strike at the shark...

And a silver claw flashed out to circle the snake's throat just below its jaws, claws tearing through the spread hood and holding her firmly in place. Coils thrashed and turned to circle the shark's body, but he seemed to pay as little attention to that as the fangs that struck uselessly at his arm and left shallow gashes in the metal.

Goldentail was just glad that she wasn't the one getting attacked at the moment and slowly calmed down a bit as she stood by watching wide-eyed.

"I do not know how you escaped from the Wani," the shark broadcast, "but they will be glad to see you returned, I think."

The snake's struggles renewed in their ferocity at the blank threat, alternately in agony from the burn of silver and in ecstasy at the pain. The night dimmed as clouds suddenly obscured the moon and rapidly began thickening with the promise of a storm.

"You should have known better than to return here," the shark projected telepathically. "They gained their prize from my claws the last time..."

A breeze began to blow, bearing the sharp, cool tang of the sea on it and... something else that Goldy couldn't immediately identify. Something dry and having a similarity to old, well-worn leather... the source becoming evident as a shimmering rift opened suddenly and she could see a glimpse of eyes looking from within. She stared, watching, her mind racing thoughtfully. What was talking about? At least this didn't look good for that horrid snake.

The eyes looked at the two monsters for a long moment, paying particular attention to the now-frozen snake who has its gaze riveted with horrified/longing fascination on something it saw in memory or in the depths of the portal itself.

"As before, I relinquish this traitor to you, but charge you with keeping better hold of her this time," the shark projected. "She has done more than enough damage to this world."

Goldy could sense a silent agreement and eagerness, then a great scaled claw snaked out from the portal to curl around the snake. The shark relinquished his grasp on it, then watched dispassionately as it was dragged in and the portal vanishes. Shafts of moonlight returned as the clouds first thinned and then vanished to leave the sky clear. Once it was done, the shark turned back to look at the small creature.

"Are you injured?" he asked, "That one is not known for dealing well with others."

"No, I'm okay, I think," she said, still panting a bit. "Thank you for saving me from the big evil snake, Mr. Shark."

The sheen of silver flowed away and when it's gone, the shark's form shifted to that of an unassuming man in a loose sweater and sweat pants. Comfortable stuff that generally concealed the heavy build underneath, a common approach for the shapeshifters that were born as animals.

"I am Ceaseless Tides," he said, walking to stand nearby. "Though I am also known as Bruce Atwater or 'Old Salty' among the humans."

"I'm Goldentail," she replied, brightening a bit. "Nice to meet you."

"Where did you encounter the mad one?" he asked, head tilting in curiosity. "She has not been seen in quite some time, as those who walk Unsea measure things."

Goldentail pointed vaguely and said, "Over near the, um, Freehold... Oh, I hope Lyn's okay!" She turned to start back that way.

As Goldy turned and started heading off, she noticed a sudden disturbance beyond the fence as a handful of sleekly elegant sports cars came caroming around a corner and sped toward the divider. A strange thing happened as they approached, the forms shimmering to replace the vehicles with equally elegant elven steeds who didn't even slow as they leapt and soared over the fence and thundered toward her.

Five lords of the local Court and their steeds stopped nearby, looking around with faint disappointment as they saw no sign of the monster they'd come hunting at the command of the sixth rider and her passenger.

Lyn waved to Goldy, then leapt down from behind Eithne. "You're alright!"

Goldentail relaxed in relief as she saw her. "Yeah, thanks to him," she said, gesturing vaguely toward the shark-man. "Thank goodness you're okay! I thought oh..." she trailed off, stumbling over words.

Eithne dismounted in a more refined and sedate fashion, giving the two only the briefest glance to assure that things were indeed as well as might be wished, then turned to offer a gracious nod in Salty's direction.

"It would seem the kitsune found fine friends indeed in her hour of peril," she said, "Our thanks yet again, old one."

A nod was his only reply, then without comment he turned and walked back to the bay to return to the succor of Sea. There were things which demanded his attention on Unsea now and then, such as the call of Sea's Champion, but this would always be the home that he returned to.

Lyn shuddered at the memory and nodded. "So did I, but I was lucky that she either didn't know or didn't care that pretty much anything in that area is watched closely by both the Folk and the cats. I was up and going again in no time, and would've been here sooner if it hadn't taken so long to convince anyone to _help_!" She turned a glare back at the armored elves, but then smiled sheepishly at a look from Eithne. "Well, some of em anyway," she corrected herself.

Goldentail said, "At least I can run pretty fast when I've a mind to, and got a few tricks up my sleeve. But I'm glad she's gone. She was not very nice."

"Now that you're safe," Lyn replied, "Think I can still talk you into a visit? Be a real shame to bring all the pretty elven steeds out here... oh yeah, the the elf lords, too, silly me. Anyway, I'm sure we can get you safely back to the Freehold this time and I can give you the guided tour."

Eithne looked out over the bay pensively as the exchange continued, reminding herself that the satyrs were generally considered beyond the bounds of polite and correct company, they really couldn't be blamed for crass behavior... not that she necessarily disagreed with the assessment of the elf lords who _hadn't_ answered the call! She smiled faintly at the shadow which moved silently beneath the waves, then turned and strode back to remount.

"We are returning now," Eithne said. "I would suggest a swift decision lest you desire another path."

"I'll come!" Goldentail said excitedly, reacquiring a bit of bounce after her ordeal.

"Great!" Lyn beamed. "Then you can be there when I smack Finn for daring to duck out and miss all the 'fun'."

The satyr smirked and headed back to swing up behind Eithne, and after Goldy was swung up behind one of the lords the group turned to head back across the city and the safety of the Freehold.


End file.
